Bit

Three weeks ago I was dreading Halloween.  The unnecessary expense, the effort at deciding on costumes, the work of putting the costumes together for a couple different events, the sugar craziness...it was all too overwhelming to think about.  I needed out!

Paul & I were very seriously considering a trip to St. George or Las Vegas for the weekend.

Then the comments & questions from the children began.

From Kyralyn:  Why don't we decorate for Halloween?  I wish we had some Halloween decorations.

From Dallin & Parker:  Comments about trick-or-treating for a LONG time & no silly pumpkin with a handle, they would bring pillowcases because these carried SO much more.

From all of them:  Excited comments about our church Halloween carnival, lots of candy on Halloween night, dressing up & being with friends.

We hesitatingly nixed the idea of leaving for the weekend.

Several days went by with me knowing that I would have to address the costume prep, the trick-or-treating plan, our traditional Halloween dinner (spooky pizza) & how much money to spend on candy.

But boy was I resisting!

I called my mom & expressed my frustration about the pressure of this dumb "celebration."  I knew she didn't like this event (see I can't even call it a holiday) & would understand.

Then I went on a long walk with Kadee, Bronson & Tate.  We passed a house with some cute & simple decorations.  Thinking of Kyralyn, I actually let myself think it would be fun to have a simple witch & ghost in the yard.

Then I remembered that even my mom, who couldn't stand this "event," used to decorate a little bit, helped us with our costumes & had some fun with trick-or-treating.

Then I took my kids to Halloween City at their request.  Watching their eyes light up at the costume & creepy decoration possibilities softened me just enough to get online when we got home to look for discount costume options.

Then I looked for ways to create the witch that crashed into a tree.

Then I found some classy looking Halloween decorations at grandinroad.com

Then I felt a distinct pinch. 

Ouch!

I was bit.

Suddenly I was excited about spiders, snakes, ghosts, skeletons, spider webs, creepy hands & rats with red eyes.  The boys wanted to hang a skeleton from a noose on the porch covered in spider webs.  I sketched an outline of several things we could do with the porch & the yard.

Late afternoon found me calling Paul with excitement in my voice at the outdoor decorations I had put together in my mind.  He was wondering where his wife, who just that morning was again lamenting (resisting) the pressure of helping the kids have fun on this day, had gone. 

A few things were ordered.

A few things were set out.

And our Halloween fun began.

Medusa was a fun surprise for Paul.  Snakes creep him out!

She lights up when you pass by, with her awful sayings & her wicked laugh.

The next morning Kyralyn calmly told me she'd found a real spider on this web!

Lights at Halloween?  Who knew they could be fun!